ultimatepopculturefandomcom-20200216-history
Isabelle (Animal Crossing)
Isabelle, known as in Japan, is a fictional character from the Animal Crossing series of video games. She is a kindly Shih Tzu that first appeared in the 2012 release Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where she serves as the secretary to the player character. Isabelle has received positive reception, and she has become one of the most prominent characters in the Animal Crossing franchise as it de facto mascot. Her popularity has led to appearances outside of the Animal Crossing series, including as a playable character in the fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Concept and creation Isabelle was originally called Shizue in Japanese. Animal Crossing designers wanted players to reject Isabelle's offer of a ceremony for various accomplishments as mayor at least once so that they feel bad about having done so. Animal Crossing director Katsuya Eguchi and New Leaf producer Aya Kyogoku both enjoyed Isabelle; Eguchi appreciated her for her smile, friendliness, and clumsiness. Isabelle's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is based on fellow Smash character Villager. Director Masahiro Sakurai chose not to make her an "Echo Fighter" (a character with relatively minor differences from another) due to Isabelle's different proportions, different animations, and the fact that Isabelle is based on character models in Animal Crossing: New Leaf as opposed to earlier character models. Appearances Isabelle first appeared in the 2012 video game Animal Crossing: New Leaf along with her twin brother Digby. In the game, she acts as the secretary to the player character, who becomes the town mayor, and assists them with various tasks. She has appeared in several Animal Crossing games since, including Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Outside of the Animal Crossing franchise, Isabelle has also appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series, first appearing as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U before becoming a playable character in the Nintendo Switch sequel Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Isabelle also appears in the Wii U video game Mario Kart 8 as a downloadable racer, as well as in its Nintendo Switch update Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Player costumes based on Isabelle appear in Super Mario Maker and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Isabelle also appears as part of Nintendo's amiibo line of toys-to-life figures. In other media Isabelle appears in a one-off gag manga in the magazine CoroCoro. Nintendo's official Animal Crossing Twitter account is named after Isabelle and creates tweets in the style of the character in order to remind players about current or forthcoming Animal Crossing titles. Reception Isabelle has received generally positive reception since she originally appeared in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and has become a series mascot. She quickly became a fan favorite following her debut. Writer Amy Valens explains that her popularity was due to her being "wholesome, positive, and adorable." Writer Nadia Oxford praised her for her intelligence and selflessness, stating that she is "guaranteed to turn your heart into a crimson puddle of pulsating goo." She also noted that all Nintendo has to do to get her to go back to playing New Leaf is for them to "release a sketch of Isabelle the shih tzu sitting forlornly at her cobweb-covered desk, a cup of coffee turning to ice by her elbow." Kotaku's Patricia Hernandez called Isabelle adorable and her "beloved," while expressing sadness at how difficult it was to obtain her amiibo card. GamesRadar's Henry Gilbert called her his favorite resident in Animal Crossing due to her cute appearance and reliability. Writer Brittany Vincent called Isabelle one of the most adorable Animal Crossing characters. Writer Jaime Carrillo called her the best helper in video games. Author Ashley Brown discussed Animal Crossing s systems where characters in the game are designed to be aware of the pasage of time. She discussed Isabelle's dialogue in particular, where she will become flustered if the player chooses to try and delete the town. She brings up the residents and the town's history, which Brown says is a novel concept but one that may cause distress. Isabelle has been reported as potentially being bisexual or pansexual, hinted at by an apparent crush on the player-character regardless of gender. Isabelle has been a popular suggestion for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate among fans. Electronic Gaming Monthly writer Mollie L. Patterson praised her inclusion in Mario Kart 8. She also calls her adorable and that she is infatuated with her. Nadia Oxford considered Isabelle as part of one of the best downloadable content packs in 2015, calling her adorable. Writer Gita Jackson called Isabelle her "precious angel" and that Isabelle appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate constituted a birthday gift to her. Game Informer s Jeff Cork noted that Isabelle was a particular favorite for him among Ultimate s newcomers. Writer Jeremy Parish ranked Isabelle as his 11th best character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He called her the "most lovable, loyal, hard-working character" Nintendo has. She is also his favorite character in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Paste Magazine writer Holly Green ranked her as her least favorite of the newcomers in Ultimate, nothing her dislike of some of her moves while praising her fishing pole attack. Fellow Paste Magazine writer Natalie Flores called her the cutest character in Super Smash Bros. IGN's Tom Marks felt that she "fantastic" and "charming," but lamented how similar she was to Villager. Isabelle's trailer revealing her as a playable character depicts her dealing with a large workload, which spawned a meme showing an image of Isabelle and accompanying text "Isabelle said fuck work." Merchandise and promotion The official Animal Crossing Twitter account is designed to appear as if it is Isabelle's. An Animal Crossing-brand Isabelle amiibo was produced in conjunction with the release of Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. A Super Smash Bros. amiibo based on her appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was announced for 2019. The Isabelle amiibo sold out immediately, which caused writer Chris Carter surprise due to otherwise low sales of Animal Crossing amiibo. New Nintendo 3DS owners were able to swap out the default faceplates for faceplates featuring Isabelle. A Nendoroid figurine of Isabelle was released by Good Smile. A crossover promotion between Sanrio and Animal Crossing lead to a digital menu theme depicting Hello Kitty and Isabelle in a truck. Multiple Line digital sticker featuring Isabelle were released on the app. References Category:Animal Crossing characters Category:Female video game characters Category:Super Smash Bros. fighters Category:Video game mascots Category:Nintendo protagonists Category:Fictional dogs Category:Fictional secretaries Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2012